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Great and worth a visit

Being as I'm here right now I felt it appropriate to write a review! Unfortunately today is raining hence the use of computer and time for a review!

However Interlaken is a beautiful place which I can recommend, in the heart of the Swiss Alps it has stunning views especially from the main street opposite the casino where there is a grass area, you must stop and take in the view, it's a view of the Jungfrau which peeps between two mountains very close to Interlaken.

The Jungfrau is the heighest mountain in that region and worth a visit although at the prices they charge we did not go this time, I have been as a child and it was great. It's approximately £132.00 per adult!. It is amazing though you travel up in a train and most of it is inside the actual mountain with a few stops on the way to get out and have a look at the view through windows. At the top of the mountain it takes your breath away and there's snow of course! Also at the top is a carved glacier which you can go in and look at the ice sculptures they're amazing.

Back to Interlaken, there is plenty of parking around, the easiest way for a quick visit is the parking meters at the sides of the roads. Interlaken translates to Inbetween lakes, which it is, it's between Brienzsee and Thunersee lakes, and through the middle of Interlaken are three conecting rivers the colour is amazing because the water comes from the icy mountain's it's a rich ice blue colour.

Interlaken is an international place, there are visitors from all over the world, therefore many people speak English to each other as the languages try to connect with one another. The information centre is placed on the high street and very helpful.

Things to do----------------Horse and Carriage ride through the townIf it's warm then the outdoor swimming pool is great funWatch chocolate being made and taste it! at 5pm every dayWildlife park Take a ride up to the Harder Kulm mountain for stunning viewsShopping - lots of shopsFuture park (a kind of adventure park)A rope park with climing adventuresLots of water sports and sky divingHelicopter ridesModel railway (a walk up a mountain or fenicular ride to get there)

Heiwehfluh---------------This is an addition to original review as we've just been today. I have to say that it was very dated and in need of a little attention. I guess they've tried as there's a new toboggan run from the top to bottom. Heimwehfluh is a little tiny hill (compared to the mounatians around!!!) right next to Interlaken and I guess in it's hey day it was a great little attraction, in a way it still is but it's a bit pricey for what it is. It has a little old fashioned short fenicular ride to the top about 7 minutes long it's 14francs return for adult and 7francs for children, you can choose to come down on the toboggan instead for the same price if you wish. Or you can walk up and do one or the other down. At the top is a little park for children and what looks like a disused smaller toboggan which on the advertising is showing as still working!! there is a cafe and a little model railway which has an hourly show, we paid for all this at the bottom, there is an offer of all of it for 23francs for adult and 14francs for children which is what my husband and younger daughter did. Myself and older daughter with autism walked up, the lady said it was about 20minutes it was actually 15 but with smaller child it would be a bit longer, it was steep but not difficult. At the top we had a picnic and then went to the railway show! it said it had lights and was amazing - it wasn't! it was a sweet little show but it wasn't spectacular, it lasted about 40minutes and the lights went dark and the little town lights came on while the trains went round, the audio talked you through the trains of Switzerland in German and English, the lights gradually came on to show the morning. It was 9francs for adults and 7 for children (or included in joint price as mentioned previously). My husband and daughter enjoyed the toboggan ride down whilst I walked down in 10! There is a car park next to the attraction but it's parking meter and only about 6 spaces however if you drive just a short distance up the hill there is plenty of free parking.

Costs--------Everything in Switzerland costs a lot of money, that is the biggest draw back when coming from the UK in recession times. We found that the best places to buy food are Lidl and Aldi however you cannot use credit cards in those shops!

Toilets---------The toilets have to have a mention - they are so so clean! even the public toilets in the middle of a mountain village are well looked after!

Swimming pools--------------------The swimming pools have to be mentioned too, all around Switzerland are many outdoor pools often connected to the sides of the Lakes and you can swim in the Lake, it's very cold mind even in the summer!! it can get really hot in Switzerland, last week we reached 30degrees however in one day it shot down to 15degrees - what a difference! The swimming pools are so well looked after and thought about, they are as clean and well equipped as our hotel one's would be. There is heated floors in some of them so no soggy wet puddles of water! also hair dryers fixed to the walls and plenty of showers.

Weather-----------The weather is extremely changable in Switzerland, one minute it can be gorgeous sunshine and the next your covered in clouds! we have watched the clouds come off the water and rise up the mountains. However when the sun does shine it can get very hot, so come prepared for all weathers.

Transport-------------Transport is amazing, you can travel anywhere by train, boat or bus, all the stations connect and run to time so if you needed to connect and train and a boat they all work together and are positioned close together. The boats run across the lakes to all the main towns, the trains run up and down the valleys along the lakes and the buses also the same getting to places we wouldn't believe possible. Often the tourist attractions are connected by one form of transport.

Overall----------Overall the experience of Interlaken is wonderful, the combination of the unusual settings of the town and the buzzing life in the streets makes it a great place to visit.

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sports and activities available, and hostel suggestion

Interlaken is without a doubt one of the best places I visited when travelling around Europe. Not only are the views breathtaking, but there are loads of things to do whilst you are there.

Interlaken is the perfect place for outdoor sports junkies, and apparently is one of the most scenic places to skydive (although due to the height above sea level there is apparently less freefall). I'm not so brave as to do as skydive, but I did go Paragliding which was an amazing experience! There was only myself and my best friend on the paragliding trip, and the instructors were fantastic fun! They even had a special device with a camera mounted on the end they could hold out to take pictures of us whilst we were in the air! They gave us the films to take home (in a cute little windsock made from paracute material) and the pictures turned out amazing! We landed on the green right in the middle of town!

We also went canyoning whilst in Interlaken, which was again an amazing experience. There are also options to go zorbing, hiking, mountain biking and all sorts of other exciting stuff! You can book most of these activities from your hotel or hostel.

We spent a day making jewelery in a lovely little shop named 'Beden' which was very relaxing, and overall had a wonderful time the entire time we were there!

There are several lovely restaurants, loads of gorgeous chocolate, and plenty of gift shops to browse.

We stayed in Balmers hostel, a quirky lodge with it's own bar and nightclub. It's no luxury hotel, but as far as hostels go, it was fine, full of friendly people, cheap and cheerful!

I'd definately recommend a visit to Interlaken!

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You quite simply just gotta go to Switzerland....and the best place is Interlaken..which means just as it sounds..in between two lakes.....the lakes of BRIENZ and THUN (pronounced TUN !! not TH strange eh ?? heheh)...the little town of BRIENZ is beautiful......it is especially known for its cuckoo clocks ( so called probably because with the bird popping out every hour it drives ya cuckoo NOOOO haha only joking !!).....and it is well known for wood carvings.....marvellous when you see them....horses , deer ,eagles , i mean absolutely magifico !!! also ...if you are of Japenese origin this is the place for you too cuz it is swarmed with Japenese tourists and they even have signs up in Japenese specially !! honest !!.....there is a big steam boat that you can take trips on here ...an absolute must.....a beautiful lake with mountains in the background.....there is also a cog wheel railway which you can take up a mountain and you can view the two lakes from above. The other Lake is Lake Thun (Tun..Tun..remember ?? hehe)and there is a beautiful boat trip around this lake too with mountains towering in the background.An absolute MUST if you have a bit of spare cash wehn you go into Interlaken is a trip up to the Jungfraujoch......this is the highest cable car route in Europe and the view is breathtaking......the three famous mountains which tower over Interlaken (what ...?? you never heard of them ??? hehehe) are the Eiger , Monch and the Jungfrau........The Eiger is meant to be an ogre who is after the young lady (the Jungfrau) but in between keeping her safe is the Monk (Monch)..just thought i would throw that useless piece of information in there !! who knows ?? you may ne asked it next time ya appear on "Who wants to be a Millionaire " heheehe .....ohhhhhhhhh there is so much to see in Interlaken......all you Brits out there will have no problems because most places you go in Interlaken speak some sort of English...mostly very good !!....i vill sa y zis only once!!!.....ummmmmm....the weather can be very hot in summer so don`t think you will be freezing to death !! it`s mostly like our summers except when ya go up high in the cable cars and bring extra clothing for that......the St. Beatus caves are also a must......an amazing tour takes you through them...breathtaking......a nice cable car trip is up the Niederhorn where you have a beautiful panoramic view of the Swiss Alps......if you walk a little further when you get there you will seee Steinbock.....i`ve forgotten the English word but they...well we don`t have them in the UK but they have kinda big horns and live in the wild......watch out also for eagles...you will spot them now and again.......another must is the Schilthorn.....you can take a cable car ride up here and will see the revolving restaurant that was in that James Bond Movie......ughhhhh i`ve forgotten the name but the movie is famous hahaha....the actual town of Interlaken is buzzing...tourists everywhere.and so much to see but if you want you can take yourself off to one of the many quiet Swiss villages,they have so much character....and the Swiss houses are beautiful....and have flowers in EVERY window and i mean EVERY window !!!! they have also a Swiss House Museum in Beatenberg near Interlaken....with scores of old swiss houses and all the culture involved to walk around.....of course for those of us who are more energetic (did i say US ?? sorry YOU i meant!!! hehehe)...there is so much to do.....wind surfing on the lakes .....hang gliding from the mountains...to name just a couple So go to Interlaken ......it is real , pure SWISS BLISS Take Care all you folks P.S. you gotta try Swiss Cheese Fondue mmmmmm and Raclette.just ask when you go there ....they will know what you mean.oh and one more thing.....Landjeger ..it is like a sort of salami on a stick only nicer mmmmmmm

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I recently visited Switzerland and travelled by means of a Swiss Rail Pass.One of my ports of call was Interlaken.The rail station at Interlaken West was in the centre of the town.On the platform was a hotel guide.Within 15 minutes,I had chosen a hotel and had duly registered.Switzerland certainly makes things easy for their visitors.It is possible to catch the Steamer and take a trip to Spiez on the Lake of Thun which is very worthwhile just to see the scenery at your leisure.I would like to hear from anyone who has recently travelled in Switzerland and to know how they got on.

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Interlaken is quite simply put one of the nicest places you could ever hope to go to, in terms of.. well, pretty much everything really. I'll start with the scenery, which is breathtaking. The town is situated in between two lakes - Lake Thun and Lake Brienz - and serves as a bridging point between two areas of the country. It is surrounded on all sides by the most picturesque of Alpine mountains, and if you can find it, I can particularly recommend a trip up the Heimwehfluh funicular railway to get some magnificent views of the town and lakes. See also if you can find the large open area near the best hotels in town, for a view of the snowtopped Jungfrau mountain. There isn't, particularly, much to do in the town itself besides shop, but the town is extremely well stocked in this respect, and has a range to suit all budgets - including of course the ubiquitous watch and penknife shops. However, it makes an excellent base for exploring the region, which contains enormous amounts to do: you can go for a cruise on either lake; take day trips to Bern on the excellent Swiss railway system; go up countless funicular railways to the very tops of mountains, and so much more. I cannot praise this place highly enough, I would return time and time again. Stunningly beautiful, not too large, but very well put together, the town has it all. Visit it.